A really lacklustre night, made better by the high-quality doco on David Bowie on ABC2 at 8.30pm — 220,000 national/ 167,000 metro/ 53,000 regional viewers. A real niche program, but compared with the mundane inanities elsewhere last night (the butter special of MasterChef!), the Bowie special was entertainment. And after 30 to 40 years, I understand him and his music. I am so old.

MasterChef had 1.037 million national/ 737,000 metro/ 300,000 regional viewers, without a warning about what the over use and consumption of butter could do to your and your cooking. Offspring had 1.003 million national/ 723,000 metro/ 280,000 regional viewers.

Seven’s one-off broadcast of the Melbourne Victory-Liverpool game from the MCG (with 90,000 people with nothing better to do), had 790,000 national/ 588,000 metro/ 202,000 regional viewers on 7mate. The best figures were in Melbourne, followed by Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. Brisbane viewers didn’t really care.

In the battle of the Wednesday night laugh meisters at 9.30pm, the debuting new Ten show, This Week Live, was easily dusted by ABC1’s Wednesday Night Fever. Ten’s effort had 510,000 national/ 338,000 metro/ 172,000 regional viewers, the ABC’s effort had 618,000 national/ 429,000 metro/ 189,000 regional viewers. We’ve seen and heard This Week Live before. Very derivative

The outcome was a win for Seven overall (very close), but a clear win for Nine on the main channels. In regional markets, Nine was a big winner and Seven’s soccer special wasn’t as big for 7mate as it was in the metros. Nine has the week in its grasp.

Tonight: If you want programs that are interesting, try The Roast on ABC2 at 7.30pm, then Twentysomething at 8.31pm, Mock The Week at 9.01pm and Dirty Laundry at 9.33pm. The programs are uneven, but take risks (Mock The Week is from the UK, the rest are local). The only competition is the final episode of Wonders of Life on ABC1 at 8.30pm. And don’t you like the programming synergy on Seven? At 8pm, after an hour of Home and Away we get the first episode of a “reality program” called Formal Wars, then a move at 9pm, Bridesmaids.

Network channel share:

  1. Seven (19.6%)
  2. Nine (29.3%)
  3. Ten (18.2%)
  4. ABC (17.8%)
  5. SBS (5.1%)

Network main channels:

  1. Nine (21.7%)
  2. Seven (18.2%)
  3. Ten (12.9%)
  4. ABC1 (12.6%)
  5. SBS ONE (4.5%)

Top digital channels: 

  1. 7mate (8.4%)
  2. GO (4.1%)
  3. ABC 2, Gem (3.5%)
  4. 7TWO, Eleven (3.0%)

Top 10 national programs:

  1. Nine News — 1.931 million
  2. The Block (Nine) — 1.917 million
  3. Seven News — 1.899 million
  4. Home and Away (Seven) — 1.425 million
  5. ABC1 News — 1.413 million
  6. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.343 million
  7. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.339 million
  8. The Big Bang Theory repeat (Nine) — 1.272 million
  9. Criminal Minds (Seven) — 1.200 million
  10. 7.30 (ABC1) — 1.181 million

Top metro programs:

  1.  Nine News — 1.359 million
  2. The Block (Nine) — 1.335 million
  3. Seven News — 1.284 million
  4.  A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.131 million
  5. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.075 million

Losers:  Seven’s double episodes of The Mole from 9.30 to 11.30pm last night. The two programs averaged 478,000 nationally. Arrow is now on run out with Nine adding an extras episode last night at 10.30pm. It did better than The Mole, but has clearly faded for the million-plus viewers it had nationally at its debut. It added 750,000 nationally for the two episodes. 

Metro news and current affairs:

  1. Nine News — 1.359 million
  2.  Seven News — 1.284 million
  3. A Current Affair (Nine) — 1.131 million
  4. Today Tonight (Seven) — 1.075 million
  5. ABC1 News –– 975,000
  6. 7.30 (ABC1) — 795,000
  7. Ten News  — 720,000
  8. The Project (Ten) – 501,000
  9. Lateline (ABC1) — 198,000
  10. Ten Late News — 185,000

Metro morning TV:

  1. Sunrise (Seven) – 381,000
  2. Today (Nine) – 372,000
  3. News Breakfast (ABC1, 69,000, News 24, 33,000) – 102,000

Top five pay TV channels:

  1. TV1 – (2.9%)
  2. Fox 8 – (2.8%)
  3. LifeStyle – (2.1%)
  4.  Sky News (1.8%)
  5. UKTV, Discovery – 1.7%.

Top five pay TV programs:

  1. The Simpsons (F0x 8) – 78,000
  2. NCIS (TV1) — 69,000
  3. AFL: 360 (Fox Footy) — 68,000
  4. Futurama (Fox 8) — 64,000
  5. Family Guy (Fox 8) – 63,000

*Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2013. The data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of OzTAM. (All shares on the basis of combined overnight 6pm to midnight all people.) Plus network reports.